The 39th Academy
by CraZy BaNaNa 98
Summary: Being accepted into the best elemental school in the world was supposed to be the extent of Amy's successful school life, but when she is forced to protect Gideon's ring to stop the extinction of elemancy, things get a little complicated. Amy/Ian
1. Chapter 1

My footsteps left a resounding echo in the deserted hallway, where only the extremely elite and best elemental students would ever walk. Everything here spoke of money from the Armani curtains hanging elegantly across a grand window, opening to expose the grounds of the 39th Academy, to the floors of bluish polished marble that had never seen one speck of dirt, unlike my earlier school. My brother, Dan, and I had been graciously accepted into the most prestigious academy in the world as special scholarship students for outstanding scores on the entrance exam and our extraordinary elemental abilities.

We were extremely happy when we realized that we would no longer have to live with our Aunt Beatrice. Our parents had died a while back in a fatal car accident and we were shipped off towards the wicked witch of Boston also known as our Aunt Beatrice. She had been a terrible guardian, treating us like the fungus in between her toes. We had been looking for an escape for as long as I could remember.

Dan and I had accepted the invitation to study at the academy graciously.

London, England was a rather long distance away from our small home in Boston, but the farther away we were from Aunt Beatrice the less likely it would be that she come looking for us again.

Being from America, we had hoped not to stick out too much, but we hoped in vain. There seemed to be a set hierarchy where name and monetary status spoke more than… well anything. We realized quickly that the 39th Academy was home to the heirs of major people, and that we had not a penny to our name. We couldn't even afford the school's uniform and had to settle for our nicest clothes and cleanest shoes, which weren't many. I wouldn't feel sorry for myself though, or Dan for that matter. We had long since accepted the ridicule that came with wearing second-hand clothes that always fit a little too big or too small. I was determined to make the best of the experience here.

If only I could find a quiet place to study.

I had been to all the four libraries in the academy and none had been even remotely close to quiet. None of the alumni that attended the school had to worry for their grades like I did, so why wouldn't they basically shout their petty conversations in a library?

_Where am I supposed to go?_

I continued to walk in circles until I came across unfamiliar, intimidating mahogany double doors and stopped.

"This wasn't on the school tour." I mumbled to myself. I read the sign above it, where the room was listed in big block letters.

_Music Room #3_

I pressed my ear on the door, listening hard for any noise that might show someone was in there.

There was nothing.

"Well, it has to be better than the libraries."

I grasped one of the shiny brass handles lightly and pushed. The door opened with a slight creak.

The room was large and spacious, although it didn't look like a music room. There were no instruments, and it had a large floor to ceiling window that beautiful view of the academy's gardens and the lovely stone fountain. The colors from the flowers on the bushes below reflected slightly across the window. There was also furniture strewn randomly across the room covered in light cotton sheets. I looked around and found myself humming happily.

_This'll do._

I took a seat below the window and cracked open my textbooks.

-:-

I was sitting against the window when two students walked in.

I hid behind the dark red curtains with remarkable swiftness, and peeked through a conveniently placed hole.

"Ian, we cannot keep practicing in here. It is forbidden, and you know what mother will do to us if we are caught." A girl scolded.

"Well, then we better not get caught Natalie. Or are you scared?" Ian responded snidely. He looked very much like the Natalie girl. They even had the same jet black hair and smoldering amber eyes.

Natalie's eyes narrowed.

"Fine, but if you burn my blazer again you're buying me a new one."

_They couldn't possibly be…_

"Don't I always?" Little white stars began to surround Ian's left eye in preparation and his uniform took on a shimmery quality, while his sister's right eye began to form one lone swirl from the tip of her right eye to her ear in a dark violet. Her blazer shimmered purple.

They were Light and Dark elementals, and they were going to practice their elemancy!

"Are you ready, brother?"

Ian rolled his eyes, although the annoyed gesture didn't mar his flawless face. "As ready as I'll ever be."

I saw the room get slightly darker as Natalie gathered her element into a large glowing orb and release it with impressive speed and accuracy, but she had another thing coming because just as it was about to hit its target Ian swerved and sent a blinding beam of light.

I gasped audibly.

They flashing stopped and the rooms natural light came back.

"Who's there?" Ian asked harshly. "Reveal yourself!"

I held my breath. The siblings both had their elements ready in their hands, and they looked absolutely deadly.

"Ian," Natalie pointed in my direction. "Look, behind the curtains."

"Come out!"

I stepped out of my hiding place and found my shoes to be very interesting.

"Who are you?" He questioned through gritted teeth.

"And _why _are you dressed in those atrocious clothes?" Natalie added in horror.

"I-I-I'm A-Amy. I-I-I'm the n-new scholarship stu-student." I stumbled through my introduction.

Natalie eyed me up and down with distaste before remembering her manners.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet someone of your… intelligence."

"Are you spying for Zoë? Because I've already told her my sister and our friends will not join her ridiculous fighting squad."

"Zoë? I don't think-" I was cut off.

"Did someone call me?" A petite blonde girl, questioned from the doorway. "Oh, Ian, I see you've spoken about me to the new girl. That's very sweet of you." She patted his cheek. He glared. "Have you reconsidered the offer? Because it still stands. I hope you know that Daddy won't find it strange if you helped us to rid the school of the people who don't deserve to be here." She looked at me pointedly.

"I'd prefer them over you any day." Ian replied, clearly displeased with her presence.

Her pretty face scrunched up and turned slightly pink. Her tattoo glowed faintly out of anger.

"Remy!" she squeaked. "Get her."

A big burly boy-if you could even call him a boy- seemed to appear out of nowhere and was in front of me.

_He couldn't possibly be coming after me? Could he…? _

His tattoo shone red over his right eye, similar to flames, and his uniform turned an angry ruby.

Remy shot a blast of fire in my direction, and the flames licked at my heels as I dodged easily.

I hadn't gotten accepted here for no reason.

I felt my tattoo flash brightly. It used to amaze me how similar it had been to my fathers, a single droplet of water across my left eye. Now, it only served as motivation to do my best. It edged me further.

I felt his fire come after me constantly, and saw that sparks of light were trying to deflect this. I got irritated, I didn't need more warmth in this fight.

"I can handle this!" I shouted hotly.

I stopped running as soon as I got back to the window. I could feel the water from the fountain outside, the push and pull, and the influence of the hidden moon.

_Push. Pull. Push. Pull._

I could feel my tattoo burst with color as I summoned the water from outside in a forceful torrent of water and knocked both Zoe and Remy down in a single swoop.

I saw Natalie disappear as she transported them elsewhere with her elemancy and a white spark before everything went black.

**A/N: Love it? Hate it? I'm not so sure about this story… :/ Feedback?(:**

**Love,**

**Adriana**


	2. Chapter 2

I was floating, drifting away into a sea of nothingness. It was a dark and spacious void, no light at all, but far in the distance I could hear the light rush of water. It was a comforting sound. I could almost feel the cool liquid pooling in my hands and slithering down my fingers, but then it seemed stretch out of reach, the faint whoosh of water turning to static in the background. I saw a tunnel of stars, growing nearer, no longer twinkling in the distance but flashing luminously at the end of my fingertips. I could almost feel their warmth.

I never got to feel the stars because in a flash there was a sudden burst of pure light and I was brought back into reality. My eyelids fluttering as I took in my surroundings.

I was in the school infirmary was my first rational thought. That I wasn't alone was my second.

Sitting at the foot of the small bed was none other than Ian, his jet black hair fell over his face in luscious waves of hair, covering his intriguing amber eyes. He looked up at me as I groaned after trying to roll over.

"Hi." I said dumbly, at loss for any other words but he smiled, amused.

"Well, hello. I do believe we haven't been properly introduced. I am Ian Kabra, head boy of the Lucian branch. What about you?" I stared for half of a second in bewilderment. He was so very polite.

"I'm Amy Cahill," I stated, as if he didn't already know that from his furious interrogation earlier. I continued hesitantly. "But I don't know which house I'm supposed to be in yet."

"Oh, well that just means that you'll be sorted later tonight at the welcoming ceremony."

I nodded awkwardly and he frowned as I rubbed my aching arm. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore." It was true. My whole body felt as if it had been trampled on by a stampede of wild gorillas, which had made it their goal to trample me nearly to death. I flinched as my finger traced a particularly tender bruise. "What happened?"

"Well you-" Ian didn't get to finish as his sister strode into the room.

"You drew water from the garden fountain and drained your elemancy. Honestly, that you're up so soon is amazing. All elementally related things have charms on them to prevent you from abusing them, and normally they can be quite fatal. You have impeccable resistance." She wrinkled her nose slightly. "As for those blokes they're back in their dorms asleep."

"More like unconscious." Ian muttered under his breath.

She glanced at him, unfazed. "Either way, they're both far from here and won't be waking up any time soon. I must say you are in better shape. Did Hamilton fix you up?"

"Who's that?"

"You don't know Hamilton? We simply must present you to each other! It will be simply splendid! Don't you think so Ian? They would make a cute couple." She grinned, her sudden burst of energy contradicting her dark elemancy.

"I wouldn't really say a _cute_ couple but-" Ian started before something began beeping viciously in his sister's pocket. She took her phone out of her pocket quicker than lightning.

"That's mum." She said, suddenly somber. "I should go. I'll see you soon, alright?"

Ian took on a worried frown. "Be safe and call me when you get back."

"I will. Now, stop with the pouting." She said sharply before starting again in a softer tone. "I'll be back before you can say Prada sale."

She slipped out of the room without a backward glance, and I knew better than to pry about their lives. His gaze drift back toward me; sudden hotness filled my cheeks at the attention.

"I should get going as well." He looked over my arm where a violet bruise was starting to form and frowned. He seemed to do that a lot. It didn't suit him. "Will you be alright by yourself?"

"I'll be okay… Thank you for taking care of me."

He smiled. "I feel like we should be thanking you, but you're welcome all the same. Natalie is grateful too, but she won't tell you that." I hummed in agreement.

He spoke so smoothly, it just about put me to sleep. I yawned loudly.

"You're tired. Please, sleep." He paused. "I shall be here when you awake."

His fingers closed my eyelids gently and warm sensation, similar to the one you get when you step outside on a sunny day, lulled me back into slumber.

-:-

I was dreaming, curled up in a ball at the bottom of a cold, dark place. My teeth clanked against each other as I shivered uncontrollably. I wrapped my arms around myself in an attempt at warmth. I could see my breath float in front of my face as it came in shallow pants. I was gripping something so tightly in my fist that my knuckles were beginning to ache. Gently, I unwound my fingers from their clenched place and found a simple gold ring resting in my palm, but something was different about the ring. It seemed to be pulsing, almost _alive_.

An ominous voice began to speak inside my head.

_Only you may grasp the ring. Keep it safe, keep it hidden, and all will be well._

"What? Who's there?" I shouted to the darkness, thoroughly startled.

_You must take the ring to the sacred grove and be rid of it. Protect the ring with your life, child, for if it falls into evil hands the world will end in chaos. Only you can meet the task. _

"Why must it be me?" I whispered, broken. There was something about how this being spoke. It was demanding, but something about it seemed so familiar. I didn't want to protect a ring a valuable ring I didn't know anything about, but it seemed as if I had no choice. I had been bound to this task since I was born the ring told me. It shared its excitement over a new owner with me. I was overwhelmed with the power of the supposedly inanimate object.

_Protect the ring. It is your destiny, Amy._

"No!" I whispered through clenched teeth as I shook my head in denial. "It's too much."

I could feel the ring begin to pulse harder except it was inside me now, changing the beat of my heart to match its pace. I could feel its power seep into me, re-energizing me at an inhumanly fast rate, yet leaving my elemancy more drained than it had ever been. The raw power was burning me from the inside. It was as if a fire had been ignited within me and it scorched my skin and I was rolling around trying to put the imaginary flames out. I screamed in panic, not knowing when the excruciating pain would end.

"It burns." I was screeching, but I was the only one who heard.

_Amy. Protect the ring, Amy. It is fate, Amy. Keep it hidden, Amy. Find the grove, Amy. Amy, Amy, Amy._

I was being branded from the inside and could not tap into my elemancy. The heat became excruciatingly painful quickly.

"I will complete your task, just _please_ make it stop." I begged with whoever was listening.

_Amy. Amy. Amy. _The voice tsked. _You can make it stop on your own, Amy._

"I can't!"

_You__** can**__ Amy! Amy!_

I focused hard on the ring held tightly in my palm it was almost engrained in my palm. I breathed in slowly and released. I opened my eyes at once. My elemancy was back, and it was ten times stronger. I flexed my fingers before standing up as quickly as I could. The voice was beckoning me from the distance.

_Amy. Amy. Amy! Amy!_

I ran toward it as fast as I could towards it but crashed into something solid.

I was back in the infirmary.

Ian's face was an inch away from mine, eyes frantic.

"Are you alright? You were shaking and screaming. Were you having a nightmare?" His voice hushed down towards the end, returning to his cool demeanor. I could feel his warm breath across my cheeks.

"Something like that." I murmured, mostly to appease his curious gaze, but all it did was make it narrow. I didn't know why I wouldn't tell him, he seemed trustworthy enough. It's just that my gut feeling told me that this was something I should keep to myself. I couldn't remember the last time I had a secret. Ian was staring intently at me intently as if his gaze alone could force me to tell him the truth. I was tempted, I'll give him that.

The door swung open.

"Amy!" My dweeb of a brother rushed inside the infirmary in a panic. "I need food! Do you realize how _hungry _I am? I missed dinner _and_ lunch because I was looking for you and then some random girl in tells me you're in here! I thought the ninjas had come for you and left me behind Amy! I was _terrified._"

Not the reaction I had expected. At all.

"Excuse me, but may I ask who you are?" Ian cut it smoothly, a slight spark in his eyes I could only sum up as anger. Dan seemed to notice him for the first time and grinned wickedly.

"I'm her brother, unfortunately for her because she pales in comparison." I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. "She's undeserving of my awesome ninja skills. You're Ian Cobra, right? I've heard about you and your sister." Dan collapsed into one of the chairs beside me and propped his feet up on my bed. I flinched slightly and, regrettably, Dan noticed. Actually, he seemed to realize where I was for the first time too.

He turned sharply in Ian's direction.

"Did you do this?" Sparks began to crackle around his head in random pops.

"What are you talking about?" Ian responded quickly, incredulous.

"Did you put my sister in the infirmary?" He asked slowly, enunciating every word. This time his tattoo, a single lightning bolt across his right eye, flashed brilliantly.

Dan was a lightning elemental and he was _furious_.

He was spontaneous and full of energy, everything a lightning elemental should be but he had a temper and his temper really was like lightning. It came unplanned and in a short, hot blaze. I recalled a time where we had played in the park and a big kid began to make fun of my stuttering. I hadn't been crying than five seconds before a small spark of light flew onto the bully's shirt and set him on fire. He ran home crying and I can't remember seeing him ever again.

When Ian didn't respond fast enough a frenzy of fiery sparks danced around Dan's body.

"Dan, knock it off! He didn't put me in here, it's my fault." I stated calmly enough, thoroughly annoyed with his over protective side.

His tattoo dimmed slightly.

"I just used up a lot of my elemancy and sort of drained it."

The sparks died down, and his tattoo was nonexistent on his face now.

"What were you doing Amy? Don't you know it's dangerous to use your elemancy in school? Just about everything is charmed."

_Was I really the only one who was not informed of this?_

Dan stared at me intently, waiting for a response.

"Well, um, you see I was just—" Ian cut in.

"She was tutoring me and she simply used up her elemancy."

Dan looked at us suspiciously, not buying one word.

"We don't have our schedules yet, how could you tutor someone when you don't even know what your classes are?" And the intelligence of my brother finally popped up. I swear that if he wasn't so obsessed with ninjas he could be the next Sherlock Holmes. My brother hadn't just got accepted to The 39th Academy just for his outstanding show of elemancy, but for his amazing photographic memory. He had been placed in the highest testing percentile in math, mostly because he could find patterns and memorize equations so well. If anything I got accepted with him, not the other way around.

"Dan," I said, exasperated with his interrogation. "Let it go. I'm fine, you're fine, I was just a little light-headed, okay?"

"Okay," Dan stated flatly, sounding not okay with it at all. "What are you anyways?" He gestured towards Ian.

"I'm a light elemental."

"Figures," Dan snorted. "I've never met a light elemental before. What can you do?"

"I can do a lot more than you would expect."

**A/N: Alrighty. That was awkward to write for some reason… Sorry, it took so long. :/ This is not when I wanted to get this chappie up. Oh well… Thoughts?**

**Luv,**

**Adri(:**


	3. Chapter 3

I could hear the chatter of students through the doors into the dining hall; compared to it I felt small and insignificant. We were being sorted tonight. Our house would choose us in front of the entire student body, and to say I was nervous would be the understatement of the century. My palms were clammy and I couldn't stop drumming my fingers against my thigh, beside me Dan squeezed my arm in reassurance.

Ian had explained to me that there were five houses that could choose you; the house of Lucian, Janus, Tomas, Ekaterina, and Madrigal, all of them having different qualities. They housed any type of prodigy imaginable, from musical to scientific, along with future body builders and the C.I.A's soon to be top assassins, but there was one house that didn't fit into any group at all.

"The people of the house of Madrigal keep to themselves," Ian began, telling me of the mysterious way of the Madrigals. "They don't very much like to associate with people of the other houses. They are incredibly mysterious. It is said that Madrigal house knows of all the academy's secrets, but they are indifferent to everyone. No one knows what they do in their private curriculum, or what happens to them after they leave the academy. I cannot even begin to imagine what happens behind their walls."

I shivered in anticipation as an old and masculine voice filled the corridor. I couldn't help but wonder which I would fit in to, and if Dan would be with me or if we would be separated.

"We have the greatest honor of introducing two new students to our academy today. I expect you to treat them with the uttermost courtesy you would give upon me and the pleasantness you would grace your closest companions with. These students are to be sorted; I assume that in whichever house they are led to that you will treat them graciously. Am I correct?" I heard mumbles of agreement drift through the crack in the door. "Good. Now, Amy and Daniel Cahill please step forward."

I took a deep breath as stepped into the dining hall. I felt the stares of the entire 39th Academy on my back as I walked up to the headmaster, William McIntyre, who now seemed to be a million miles away. There were five extraordinarily long tables in the hall, each with their house flag above them. The uniformity of it all made me gulp uneasily.

I cast a glance to the side, and was pleasantly surprised that among the sea of faces was Ian. He nodded at me; a smile tugging at his mouth, beside him Natalie sported a wicked grin.

I exhaled a shaky breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"Geez, all of these gaping fish stares are making me want to spark." Dan whispered behind me playfully, sensing my unease. I rolled my eyes at his words, remembering his short fused temper and how he really could spark. We made it up to the front of the room before I could retort.

"Miss Amy, Mister Dan, let us begin. Please," He gestured to two stools beside him. "Have a seat. What are your elements?"

"I-I'm a w-w-water e-elemental, sir." I heard some giggles in front of me and ducked my head. My stutter never did seem to stop publically humiliating me. Mr. McIntyre looked at Dan expectantly.

"Lightning." He stated, sparks flying dangerously around his head. I swore I saw some girls swoon slightly.

Mr. McIntyre simply narrowed his eyes, and stepped in front of us.

"Lightning and water elementals, how lovely," I saw a ghost of a smile race through the old headmaster's face, before he pulled out a long, multi-colored scarf from his pocket. "Seraphim, please do help us to accommodate these new students to our school, yes? Thank you." He wrapped it around my neck as I looked at Dan in bewilderment.

_That's odd._ I thought. _He speaks to it as if it were alive._

There was a tinkle in my head that I recognized as laughter. _That's because I am alive, silly goose! I'm here to tell you your house. _The feminine voice stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh," I gasped lightly. It seemed that I was growing accustomed to people speaking to me in my head. I heard the tinkling noise again.

_That's so very articulate for someone who reads as much as you do. Oh well. I suppose you are in shock. I'll let it slide this time. _I felt a fluttering sensation inside my head, almost as if there was a fairy inside, searching for something.

_Oh dear. _The feminine voice stated, less enthusiastic than before. _Your parents are deceased aren't they? I'm so terribly sorry. Arthur and Hope held so much promise. You are so much like her. _I sucked in a shaky breath to calm my nerves. I hadn't thought of how my parents had gone through this process before, too.

I wiped at my eyes furiously. I wouldn't cry in front of the student body, no matter how hard it was not to.

I felt Seraphim dig around in my head some more, and got the feeling she was grinning at something. _You have your father's elemancy. You have the same brute strength and control. I know exactly where to put you, my darling. This is so exciting! You will accomplish great things! _

The silk slid off my neck and I felt lost among the stares in my direction. Why were they all looking at me like that? I turned to Dan, but he was looking at the scarf displayed above my head. It was obsidian now.

Mr. McIntyre's mouth pulled up at one corner. "Madrigals, I present to you your newest edition, Amy Cahill!" Mr. McIntyre's mouth pulled up at one corner. "Go take a seat with your house, Miss Amy."

I nodded without truly understanding, but as I walked to the Madrigal's table I heard people's offhand comments.

"That house is cursed. No one that goes into that house is ever heard from again."

"Poor girl, she has to deal with all those lunatics."

"What a freak."

By the time I sat down I noticed that the school's opinion of the Madrigals was anything but positive and that Mr. McIntyre had already wrapped the cloth around Dan.

I bit my lip anxiously.

I saw Dan's eyes widen before he looked around, almost as if to ask if anyone else heard the voice. When he realized no one did, he crinkled his brow in concentration. After a moment, he frowned and tightened his jaw. He was upset about something.

Mr. McIntyre took the scarf off harshly when he saw Dan losing his hold on his emotions and how he was beginning to flicker.

The scarf shifted colors from green, to yellow, then blue, before finally settling on the same black I had gotten. The entire room took a shocked breath, including me. Dan, however, was grinning like a lunatic, completely forgetting what had made him angry.

"Mr. Dan." Mr. McIntyre paused, suspenseful. "Madrigal house!"

Dan hopped off the stage, sat next to me, and elbowed me in the ribs.

"Can't seem to get rid of my ninja skills _can_ you, Amy?"

I smiled at him affectionately. "Dweeb."

Our new headmaster called out, "Let us begin the feast!"

Men and women in black and white uniforms came in with trays full of food. They swept by gracefully, refilling empty glasses and clearing away empty plates. I felt hesitant chatter start up, sounding slightly odd since it had been so quiet during the sorting. Dan was scarfing down a dainty finger sandwich when I caught the eye of someone sitting to the left and across from me. He had chocolate brown hair the fell across his forehead in waves, shielding his eyes. His lips pulled up into a thin frown as he brushed his dark locks from his face to stare at me openly.

I felt my cheeks grow hot.

"Well, that was interesting wasn't it?" I heard I silky smooth British accent ask behind me. Dan and I turned only to see the notorious Ian and Natalie Kabra.

"Natalie," Ian warned.

"What?" Her voice rose to an indignant tone. "It was! Madrigals are rare and for there to be two-"

"Excuse me, but this is the Madrigal table and I must ask you to leave." The boy who had stared at me earlier interjected. He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes and smiled delicately. "We do have to orient our new members, don't we?"

"Come _on,_ Andy. We were just talking." Natalie said, rolling her eyes.

"I know, and I'm sorry. It's the headmaster's order." Andy shrugged noncommittally. He looked over his shoulder as he walked away. "I expect to see you in the Madrigal commons in fifteen minutes."

I saw Ian's jaw clench slightly and decided to speak.

"Maybe it's a good idea. I mean what harm could a few guidelines do right?"

Natalie sighed dramatically before looking at me. "Fine but you must visit us right after, yes? We have much to discuss," She looked over at Dan and frowned slightly. "The both of you."

"Sounds like a date." He grinned through a mouthful of pasta.

Natalie blushed all the way to her ebony roots.

-:-

It took me and Dan a while to find the Madrigal commons, but when we got there I can tell you that we were most definitely _not _expecting to find the entire Madrigal house population lounging across the room. The commons was almost never ending in its height and the walls were made of bookshelves with windows scattered randomly throughout the room. There were two stairwells on either side of the octagonal chamber that I assumed led to the male and female dormitories. Some of the students were huddled up by the windowsills, others were warming themselves by the fire, and then there stood Andy, in the midst of it all. It seemed to hit me then as I looked at the different faces around the room that I would be spending the next four years of my life with these people. It was slightly overwhelming. Okay, no. It wasn't just _slightly_ overwhelming. It _was _overwhelming.

"Amy, Dan," Andy said, smiling. He bowed to us in a sweeping, prince-like, motion. "Welcome to Madrigal house."

**A/N: Hey, guys. So, I didn't disappear off the face of the Earth. It's just that my muse wasn't cooperating and I had the worst writer's block. I apologize for my tardiness, but maybe if you reviewed some more **_**MAYBE **_**I'd have some motivation. (; **


	4. Chapter 4

"Now, I believe we haven't been formally introduced." Andy said before taking my hand and placing a kiss on the back of it. "My name is Lysander Foray Montgomery III, but you, Amy Cahill, can call me Andy. I am head boy for the Madrigals."

I felt all the blood in my body rush to my face and not trusting my voice, I simply nodded my head. He smiled softly as he peeked at me from beneath his dark eye lashes. I hadn't noticed before but his eyes were two different colors. While one was a deep shade of bottle-glass blue, the other was a stormy gray, and it only served to make him more exotic. He was taller and broader than he had looked from a distance, but still seemed to have an elegant litheness.

Andy released my hand gently, and continued on to Dan.

"You must be the ever amazing Dan, yes? I've seen your test scores. They're quite remarkable. It is an honor to have you here."

I could practically see Dan's ego inflate before he realized what Andy had said.

"Wait, I thought those were private files."

Andy smirked. "Exactly." He gestured for us to take a seat on a nearby couch. "I know for a fact you have heard things about us, and I'm just here to say that all the rumors are utterly and completely," He stopped for dramatic effect and I heard some people snicker at his antics. "True. They're all true. We've used our elemancy for less mundane purposes, and we're never heard of again for one purpose." He glanced at me and Dan from the corner of his eye. "You've been chosen to be in this house for a reason and that is simply to become one of the best elementals in the world. Everyone here is destined to be in the most élite elemental circles by Seraphim. She's seen it in our futures and knows that this is where we belong. We will see less than half of the people in this room in our work later in life, but I do know that no matter what we will always have each other's back." Andy looked directly at us now, both of his missed-matched eyes dark without silliness. "It is a curse to be in this house, for you will never know what it's like to have a true family without having to worry for their safety."

"But?" I asked softly, looking down at my intertwined hands. Although this explained why the Madrigal house didn't associate with any of the other houses, there had to be a bright side to all this.

"But," Andy smiled, the lightness coming back into his eyes. "It is also a blessing because you will never know a family as great as the one you'll have here." He pulled me and Dan up from the couch in one flowing movement and called out, "Jules! Kenny! Please escort the newbies to their dorms."

A set of twins, one blonde girl and boy, appeared out of absolutely nowhere.

"Yes, sir!" They said, the girl more enthusiastic than the boy.

"I'm Jules, and that's Kenny." The ecstatic girl rambled as she grabbed hold of my arm. "I'll be taking you to your room and Kenny will take your brother." I glanced back over my shoulder at Dan as I was tugged up the left stairwell. He simply shrugged. "You must be very tired. I mean learning that your house is really freaking creepy and your destiny is being an amazing agent _and_ that your elemancy is at or will be at the very top. Goodness, I nearly fainted the first time I heard it, but Kenny was there so I didn't hit anything." She smiled at me and I could feel my face stretch to reciprocate the action. "I think you're going to like it here a lot. I was hesitant at first too, but this is quite possibly the best thing that ever happened to me."

We were neared a hallway with doors every few feet.

"Andy wanted me and Kenny to show you and Dan around because we're still considered newbies even though we've been here for about a year." She pouted at this, but then brightened. "We're also sharing rooms with you guys, which is probably the better reason to why we're showing you around."

I frowned slightly at this. "I hope you don't mind sharing with me."

"Of course not! I actually get kind of lonely. Kenny is quiet and well my brother, so I can't talk to him about girl stuff, you know?"

I smiled at this, knowing in my heart that Jules was about to become a lifelong friend. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean."

"Finally, someone understands! Okay, so the stuff you need to absolutely remember for a successful dormitory life. First, don't touch the other girl's things, _trust me_, I had to learn that the hard way." She shuddered. "I will never look at pie the same way. Secondly, no fighting, we're all being in trained in martial arts and advanced elemancy, so it would get really ugly. And thirdly," she said, stopping in front of a door with a bronze eighteen engraved on it. "Don't forget your key." She grinned and pushed a gold key into my hand.

I held it up to the keyhole, but stopped for a moment. This was the beginning of a new life.

"Go on." Jules said from beside me. "Open it."

I pushed the door open and was pleasantly surprised to find all my things by what I assumed to be my bed. The room was small, but homely with old fashioned trunks at the end of each bed for our clothes, one wardrobe to share, and a small bathroom. It had one large window that had a perfect view of the evening sky and beanbags beside a desk.

I heard Jules' bed groan in protest as she sprawled across it with a magazine in hand.

"It's nice isn't it?" she said as she flipped through the pages lazily. "I don't know if you noticed, but there's no T.V., so we have to find other means of entertainment. The books aren't all bad though."

"It's perfect."

"I'm glad you like it." She said happily. "You'll probably have classes with me and Kenny, since we're all high school first years, but your brother will go to the middle school department."

"I think he'll be fine, but I would like to talk to him before I go to bed." I said, glancing at the door and gnawing my lip anxiously. Natalie _had _said we should meet her…

"That's probably a good idea. He and Kenny are in room number two; it's right at the top of the stairs to the boy's rooms. Can you get there by yourself?" Jules asked, glancing up at me from the top of her magazine.

"I think I'll manage. Thanks." I was half way out the door when she called out after me.

"Lights out at eleven!"

"I'll be back before that!" I tossed over my shoulder and closed the door behind me.

I made my way down to the commons room and was surprised to see it still slightly filled. People were sprawled across the room doing various things from playing loud games to reading in one of the comfortable looking leather chairs. I wormed my way in between the multitude of people participating in friendly chatter with various stuttered apologies before I made it to the boy's dormitory stairwell on the far right of the room. There hallway was like a reflection of the girl's one, the only exception being that while our decor wad mostly gold and bronze theirs was silver and platinum. I spotted Dan's door immediately and knocked lightly before twisting the doorknob.

I had forgotten Dan had a roommate too, and an attractive one at that.

_I am either hormonally crazed or they really only allow good-looking people in this school._ I mentally reprimanded myself.

Kenny was leaning across a dead potted plant, glaring at it intently, unfazed by my entering his room without permission. He had long blonde hair and kept his bangs out of his emerald-green eyes with a giant metal clip. Even crouched his frame seemed tall and imposing. The room was the same as mine and Jules', but I could see that Dan had set up all his collections across one side of the desk and all over his bed. Dan though, was nowhere to be found.

"I'm s-sorry. I d-didn't mean to barge in." I stammered.

"Hn." He nodded in my direction as if to say he accepted my apology, before he turned away from me again.

"D-do you know where D-Dan is?" I mumbled softly to his back.

"He'll be back soon, he said to wait here." Kenny told me softly, but the timbre of his deep voice still surprised me.

"A-alright." I said, as I sat down on the edge of Dan's bed. I realized that while Jules was hyper and bubbly, her brother was her complete opposite. Kenny was simply a man of few words. He was the first that I had met at the school that was this way, and it was actually very refreshing

"What are you doing there?" I asked him, trying to fill the awkward silence.

"Making it grow."

_Making…?_

I stood up, peeked at the plant from behind his shoulder, and gasped in awe. I hadn't noticed from where I was standing before that his tattoo, a lacy cross over his right eye, had been glowing a bright green that matched his eyes. The branches and the leaves of the once dead trees came back to life before my eyes, all because of Kenny.

"That's amazing Kenny!"

He flushed slightly as he glanced back at me. "It's nothing… You know my name."

"Y-yeah." I said, feeling like a total idiot for no good reason. "Your Jules' brother, she didn't tell me you were an earth elemental."

"Hn." He responded. "What's yours?"

"Well, I'm a water elemental." I swear I saw him smile at this. "What?"

"Your name."

My name? Oh. _Oh. _

"Amy."

He nodded, seeming to engrave it into his memory. The awkward silence came back.

"I can help you with your plant." I blurted suddenly, forgetting that elemancy was forbidden almost everywhere on campus unless you were being supervised. I had never been one to deal with uncomfortable situations well.

He arched an elegant blonde eyebrow in question.

I stood up quickly and scoured the room before I settled my gaze on a half-filled water bottle on Kenny's bed.

"Can I use this?"

He nodded.

I uncapped the plastic water bottle and slowly drew the water out, only slightly aware that Kenny was watching my every move. I moved the water around me for a moment before I formed it into a ball and went to sit in front of the plant.

"It needs water, right?"

I closed my eyes in concentration as I poured the water into the plant with flourish. I got the feeling that it was horribly dehydrated; I filled it with water wherever I felt most necessary and when I opened my eyes it was stretching toward the low ceiling and it looked more stable. This time I knew I didn't imagine Kenny smiling at me and I blushed at the genuine happiness on his face.

"Am I interrupting?"

**A/N: Nothing much to say… Review, yeah? (: **


	5. Chapter 5

"Geez, Amy. Looks like you and Kenny really hit off." Dan said, attempting to sound nonchalant, but I could see in his eyes that he was slightly peeved. I was at a loss for words.

"Hn." Kenny mumbled, uninterested in us and going back to admiring his plant.

"I was talking to him about his plant," I explained to Dan, feeling as if he were the bigger sibling.

"Where are we going?" Dan asked, momentarily forgetting the cause for his annoyance.

"I'll tell you when I figure it out." I mumbled to him as I realized that I didn't have the slightest clue about where we were supposed to meet Natalie and Ian. "Come on," I said, grabbing his arm as I walked past him. "Let's go."

"Hey, let go of me! Wait a second… Amy!" Dan yelped as I dragged him to the door.

"It was nice to meet you," I told Kenny, smiling gently, "I hope your plant does well." I heard a masculine hum of approval as I shut the door behind me.

"You didn't have to pull so hard you know." Dan said once we were on the other side of the door, rubbing his arm.

"Well, we have people to see."

"Why do we need to see those Cobra's anyways? We shouldn't have to find them, they should've sent-"

"Sent what, Daniel?" Natalie had appeared soundlessly in front of us, the only trace of her elemancy being the purple glow illuminating her tattoo. The pleats of her uniform's skirt swishing slightly at the use of her teleportation.

Dan gave a manly yelp of surprise before grasping his face in exasperation. "Of course she's a dark elemental. Why didn't I see it before?" He mumbled mostly to himself which was good because Natalie ignored him anyways.

"Hello Amy," The amber-eyed beauty smiled politely. "Are you ready to go? We have much to discuss."

"Y-yeah, I guess." I stammered. "Can Dan come, too?"

"I better be! After what happened earlier today, there's no way in hell I'm letting you go by yourself with those Cobra's." Dan fumed.

"I suppose we could bring your brother along," Natalie said thoughtfully, still ignoring Dan's very existence. "Well, we really should get going. I cannot be here for very long before someone becomes aware of my presence." She took a step back, grabbing my hand and extending the other towards Dan.

"What?" Dan demanded rudely, voicing his confusion at the gesture.

"Ware going to shadow travel and if you want to come you have to hold my hand, nitwit." Natalie said, her nose crinkling up in displeasure. Dan looked away as he harshly grasped her hand. "Do not let go of my hand, unless you want to stay trapped in the shadows forever, alright?" She didn't wait for our answer as she opened a portal beneath our feet.

I barely contained my screech of surprise.

It was unbearably cold, a biting kind of freezing. Black shadows swum past me, brushing against my arms and stimulating goose bumps upon my sensitive flesh. I shivered at the all-around creepiness of the shadow realm, while Dan seemed to embrace it, his entire body almost visibly thrumming with electrical energy.

Natalie just looked unearthly. Her dark mane of hair swirled out like a halo, fanning out against the non- existent wind. Her tattoo shone a brilliant purple, allowing her eyes to look like melted gold against her olive skin. She looked like an angel sent from the heavens to destroy the earth, and the last thing us humans would see was a striking spirit coming to end us. She had an almost goddess-like feel about her as she manipulated her element around us, letting it caress our very souls. She had a beauty about her that I could never strive to achieve. Could she really be the same age as Dan? Dan who was an immature sixth grader? She seemed so much older than that. More mature, more touched by the grace and poise of a woman than I was at that age.

"Hold on," She ordered from ahead of us, her voice sounding haunting in its hollowness, "And bend your knees."

We did as we were told, and almost as fast as we had entered the world of the shadows, we came out of it.

We'd landed in a room made of polished marble, family crests decorated the walls, along with pictures of graduates. The furniture consisted of cherry-oak coffee tables, and black leather couches worn to perfection. There was a small kitchen in the corner of the room that gleamed with items that were made of stainless steel and most amazingly of all, there was a glass room, visible from the small apartment-like marble room, with every elemental's dream. There were fountains of water and streams, overgrown with dark vines, and corners of the uttermost blackness. There was a vent that you could see the sky from for lightning and wind elementals, no doubt. Then, amongst it all, was Ian and a burly blonde boy, sitting on one of the sofas, obviously discussing something important.

Natalie cleared her throat. "We're here!"

Ian smiled graciously at us, while the boy next to him gave me a wicked grin.

"Ian, my man, you didn't tell me she was a _cute_." I blushed as the blonde gave me a wink. "Heard that you gave Remy a run for his money, cutie. It was about time someone did." He smiled a boyish grin and I found myself giving him a shy smile in return. He seemed easy enough to get along with. "And you," He said, pointing to Dan, his biceps flexing, "I saw you're entrance exam, and I didn't think it was possible to get that many perfect scores."

"How does everyone know about that?" Dan yelled in frustration. "I thought those were private files."

Natalie smirked, before continuing in an irritated tone. "We have our ways of getting our hands on things like that. Now, if you would get all get some manners and introduce yourself before I-"

"Alright Natalie, I think I can take a hint." The blonde boy interjected. "I'm Hamilton Holt, a Tomas, and an earth elemental."

"I-It's very nice to m-meet you, H-Hamilton. I-I'm Amy." I spluttered, while mentally slapping myself for being such a dork. I guess I can check off embarrassing myself in front of two earth elementals off my list.

"Pleasure's entirely mine, cutie." Hamilton said flirtatiously, grasping my hand a placing a kiss to my palm. I was flabbergasted. Did all the guys at the academy do that when they met a new girl?

_Ian certainly hadn't_. I thought. _In fact, he actually sort of interrogated me and debated whether to light element my butt all the way back to Boston._

"Stop patronizing her." Ian spoke for the first time since we arrived. "She doesn't need to deal with you antics. We have more important things to discuss than if she'll give you her number or not." He spoke so haughtily that I had to bite back my annoyance. He and his sister were trying to help me, whatever that was supposed to mean, anyways.

"You're such a party pooper, Ian." Hamilton slung an arm across my shoulders. "I'm just complimenting her. Amy doesn't mind, right?" Hamilton shook me gently, a sign of friendship, but I couldn't hold back my wince of pain. Fighting Remy earlier that day had left me sore and the bruises were becoming tender in their healing process.

"You said you were just light-headed, Amy!" Dan said accusatorily. "You're bruised! You said that what happened with you and Remy was nothing serious." Dan hissed in anger. Back at the infirmary, I had told him the shorter, less action-y version of the story. I guess that came back to bite me in the butt.

"Let me see." Hamilton cut in, interrupting Dan's fuming. He drug my gently to the couch and started to take off my sweater.

"W-what do you think y-you're doing?" I questioned, shocked at his sudden actions, and no one's move to stop him. Ian and Natalie just looked on as if it were something normal to see Hamilton strip girls on a couch, and Dan was too busy fuming in the corner to concern himself with me. Actually, the former seemed slightly plausible, it's not like Hamilton didn't have his own type of charm. And muscles.

"The bruise, it's on your arm, right? I need to see it so that I can heal it."

"Heal it?"

"Yeah, it's a pretty neat trick I learned a little earlier on in the school year. The human body," Hamilton explained, "Has iron in it and iron is a type of metal. The percent of earth in a metal is so small it's almost undetectable, but not non-existent. After a while, I learned that I could speed up the healing process by manipulating the iron in your blood."

"Isn't that dangerous for earth elementals to know?"

"Not if you're the one who figured it out." Hamilton said grinning, his crystal blue eyes twinkling with mirth. "Now, let me see your arm." I held out my arm to him and he set his cool fingers where a bruise, the size of baseball but the color of a blueberry, was already forming. Ian's eyes widened a fraction and Natalie's perfectly arched eyebrows shot up in surprise. I hadn't thought it was that bad either, obviously I was sadly mistaken.

"Amy, why didn't you tell me that it was that big?" Dan asked, hurt leaking into his voice.

"I hadn't noticed." I whispered mostly to myself, because in truth I hadn't. I'd been too busy paying attention to everything else.

"This might hurt a little." Hamilton informed me, undeterred by everyone's initial shock and remaining focused on his task. Hamilton closed his eyes and concentrated. I could feel an odd prickling sensation in my arm as Hamilton worked on curing the hurt by my shoulder. He was gentle, even as his breath became slightly labored, but it still hurt. After a few minutes, it was no longer a bluish purple, but rather a light yellow before disappearing all together. The pain was gone. Hamilton slipped to the floor from the couch, holding his hand to his firm chest as he fought to catch his breath.

"Hamilton! Is he okay?" I asked frantically.

"He will be." Ian spoke softly from the where he was standing behind the couch. "He's just worn himself out. He'll be back to his normal, obnoxious self after he rests for a bit." I looked up at Ian, and measured the sincerity in his eyes. It seemed honest enough.

"Hamilton?" A slight bob of a blonde head, "Hamilton I- Uh, thanks."

He looked up at me for a second, his face pale, and grinned toothily, before he laid his head down against my knee. His face was warm.

"Okay, now that we're done with all that mumbo jumbo, will someone _please_tell me what we're all doing her?"

From her perch in one of the worn armchairs, Natalie spoke, not even looking up from the inspection of her nails. "Do you really want to know? Because once you know, you can't walk away from us. Not alive anyways."

Dan glanced at me for my opinion and I nodded almost imperceptibly, slightly unsure of my decision.

"I think we'll take our chances." Dan said confidently, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Fine," Ian spoke sharply, "But you have to listen to everything before you talk, alright? I loathe being interrupted."

Natalie sighed, before Ian began. "You had an odd dream while in the infirmary, right Amy?" I shook my head yes, remembering Ian's harshly spoken request. "It was about a ring, wasn't it? It was about you taking it to the grove, and keeping it safe from evil." His amber eyes found my jade ones and I felt myself become uncomfortable under the heat of his gaze. That dream had been so unnerving. It wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare. "It had been prophesied that a daughter of Eve and a son of Adam would become part of one of the most coveted houses. The daughter is said to be the bearer of Gideon's ring, he who founded this school so many years ago, and who had the power to control all the elements. This ring is said to hold all of his power in a concentrated form. At the time, he had thought it was a great idea to continue his legacy in the form of the ring, but in his last moments, as he began to grow weak, he realized that without a powerful elemental to wear the ring, it would become power hungry. The ring would begin to collect all elemancy to make it stronger, and it won't stop until all elemancy other than its own ceases to exist.

"This process has already begun, and elemancy is slowly but steadily decreasing in power. With a ring bearer, we might be able to slow the development of the ring until we find the sacred grove where it manifested. Life on earth is so deeply rooted to elemancy, even those who do not possess the power have the barest bit of elemancy within their souls, and for it to disappear indefinitely would be the end of the human race." Ian's smoldering eyes caught mine again, as he said, "You are the ring bearer, Amy."

Dan came out of shock first. "You can't be serious! This is all ridiculous. Amy can't be the creepy voodoo ring bearer, and besides all that, what would _you_ all have to do with it anyways? Wouldn't it be _Amy's_ responsibility to take it to the garden of voodoo-ness?"

Hamilton's head stirred against my knee as he looked Dan straight on, not backing down from his furious glare.

"It's our job," Hamilton said, standing up, "to make sure she doesn't die trying."


	6. Chapter 6

"D-die?" I faltered. "What do you mean die?"

"Bloody Americans, can't grasp even the simplest of concepts," I barely heard Natalie mutter under her breath from her perch on the arm of the leather sofa, before continuing in a louder voice, "He _means_ that you would draw your last breath saving the world, which to me seems like a very honorable way to meet your end. Fortunately for you though, that's what the Circle is for. We make sure you don't die before you can complete your mission." Natalie shrugged.

"Don't treat this lightly!" Dan growled.

Natalie's eyes glowed with fury. "It would do you good to remember your place. This doesn't involve you, just her." Her smoldering gaze fell before me. "She is the divined and you? You are simply a pesky sibling who tagged along for the ride."

Hurt flickered across Dan's face, so quick I almost didn't catch it. I stood to say something, but Ian beat me to it.

"Natalie!" He barked. "It would do _you_ good if you were to remember that the same could be said to you." Her eyes hardened at the reprimand, but she didn't speak back.

"He's right you know," Hamilton spoke up from above me, his gelled hair slightly mussed, "We can't just send her out like a lamb to slaughter. She's not a pair of boots you can replace, Natalie. She's _special_."

I looked down at my hands, avoiding everyone's gazes.

"Don't worry Amy," Ian said with conviction, "We'll protect you."

"I can't." I whispered, incredulous. "There are only three of you. How are you supposed to care for me if you can barely care for yourselves? We're the same age!" I eyed Dan and Natalie. "Some are even younger."

"We can handle ourselves," Hamilton said, running his hand through his blonde hair, "Shoot, I've been training for this since I could walk."

"We've been waiting for you our whole lives." Ian spoke softly.

I looked around the small house, and I saw my brother oddly quiet, watching me with my same eyes. I saw two startlingly beautiful ebony haired siblings, and a soft-hearted gargantuan blonde, all willing place their lives in danger for me.

"I-I can't. I just-" I paused, looking for an escape. "I can't." I made my way to the door, keeping my head down, but before I could even grasp the golden handle Ian stepped in front of me.

"Hey, wait a second."

I looked up into his amber eyes, emphasized by long lashes that girls would die for and boys never noticed. Dan looked to me, his eyes smoldering. I needed to get away from them, all of them.

"I have to go." I said, pushing past Ian brusquely. He grabbed my arm in a less than tender grip.

"No," he began, "You cannot turn away from obstacles before we even start. It doesn't matter how old we are, or how skilled. The only thing that is of importance is that you are not alone in this, but you must learn how to have faith. We will train you, and your brother, to the highest level of elemancy. We will not let you fail. Have faith." He let me go, and I inhaled in shallow breaths.

"Faith?" I repeated, my voice trembling from barely contained emotion. "Do you have faith in me? Why would you even _believe_ I could this?"

_How am I supposed to believe this is even real?_

Ian gave me a small, tender half-smile. "Why not?"

My heart warmed for reasons unbeknownst to me.

Dan cleared his throat, and crossed his arms haughtily. "Well, now that that's settled, where's this ring anyways? All you guys do is blabber on about how important it is and how Amy's chosen, blah, blah, blah. I have yet to see it."

"That is because it isn't yours to see, twit. Amy has to ask for it." Natalie said. "We hold it until she comes and wants to accept her duty."

Everyone in the room then proceeded to stare at me with varying degrees of expectancy.

"All you have to do is ask for it and we'll bring it." Ian stated matter-of-factly.

Did I want it? Did I really want to commit myself to such a large task? For all I knew this was all just some sort of cruel initiation prank. I hadn't even been at school one day for Pete's sake! How could they expect me to be ready? I couldn't deal with this all right now. I needed time.

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves.

"I need to think. I can't give you a clear answer now." I turned towards Natalie. "Could you take me and my brother back to our dorms? Please." I finished off in a choked voice, my determination to not stutter wavering a bit.

Natalie's eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second before she gave me a breezy, "Sure."

I didn't even have time to blink before Natalie had yanked Dan toward me, grasped my hand, and gone into the shadows again. The cold seeped into my bones, and I shuddered violently in an attempt to repress the shudders that weren't all from the icy temperature. We appeared in the Madrigal house common room, soundless except for the slight crackle of a fire going, a few moments later.

"It's about ten fifty, so if I were you I'd hurried to your rooms. All entrances to the dormitory hallways lock at eleven." Natalie said off-handedly before disappearing. I distantly remembered Jules' telling me something similar. I turned towards Dan who looked exhausted and worn.

"Better get to bed." He yawned. "See you tomorrow, Amy."

"Yeah. Goodnight Dan." I spoke softly, but as I started to turn I felt arms encircle my waist.

"Don't worry about it too much. We'll figure something out. We always do." Dan stepped away as quickly as he had come forth, his face beet red. "Tell anyone I hugged you and I'll…" His threat trailed off, and he walked off towards his dorms. I did the same. I took the stairs up to my room two at a time, racing to beat the clock.

When I got to my room, I couldn't see any lights on from beneath the door. Jules was probably asleep. I opened the door as silently as I could, but failed slightly when the door swung open with a long creak. Jules was sound asleep on her bed, her platinum blonde hair splayed across her pillow like a fan of wheat as she snored lightly. I smiled gently at the normality of it, welcoming it whole-heartedly. I put my pajamas on and tossed myself on the surprisingly comfortable dorm bed, and slept my troubles away, ignoring the impression of a ring pressed blithely against my chest.

-:-

"Good morning sunshine!" Jules yelled at me, opening the curtains to let the bright morning sunlight shine across my face. "It's your first day at school, and you need to make a good impression!"

I groaned, and threw my arm over my face in desperation. "Five more minutes."

"Don't you 'five more minutes me', Amy." She said as she jumped on my bed and began to bounce.

"You" bounce "have" bounce "to" bounce "get" bounce "up!"

I buried my face deeper into the pillow. Jules got off my bed.

"Fine. If you won't get up, I guess I'll have to throw away these roses. Oh, and this new uniform."

That got me up.

"What?"

"Awake now, aren't you?" Jules snickered. "I woke up this morning, and they were at the door. Guess you have a secret admirer, huh?"

I walked over to the most beautiful arrangement of peach colored roses, and a perfectly tailored school uniform. There was a note.

_Don't forget about us._

_-I_

Not a chance.

**A/N: Sorry it took so long guys. Not gonna lie… I got side tracked with Christmas awesomeness, so here you go.(: Review, and feel free to p.m. I quite enjoy conversing with all y'all. ;D**

**-Adriana**


	7. Chapter 7

I couldn't help but stare at myself in the mirror, utterly baffled by my appearance. I wore the school uniform that, before this morning, was an item I didn't have. It was flattering, the way other boarding school's uniforms weren't, and it was smooth to the touch, gliding across the skin like silk. The blazer was embroidered with the school crest, a shield with a swirling thirty-nine on it, above the location of your heart. Under the blazer, a white collared shirt and a silky black tie peeked through. The pants were no different in the high-quality of it all, ending just above my new black dress shoes. Although, I can't say that was what surprised me.

I had swirled a tendril of water, watching my form as I waited for Jules to be ready, when I saw it. My normally black uniform had begun to change colors until it was a dark blue, shimmering just like my tattoo. But I was used to my tattoo glowing; I _wasn't _used to seeing my clothes change color. I couldn't help it, I screamed.

"What?" Jules questioned, coming out of the steamy bathroom, quickly drying her head with a towel. "Okay, I know I don't look amazing in the morning but I'm not _that _bad."

"No, no," I shook my head. "You look fine. It's just- Are the uniforms supposed to do this?" I gestured at my uniform which was swirling like an ocean before a storm.

"Oh, yeah. I thought someone would have explained it to you, but better late than never, I guess." Jules said as she plopped down next to me on my bed, brushing her hair. "Your uniform only does that when you're using your elemancy. I'm not sure how, but it sort of enhances your elemental control, which will come in handy in B.E.E."

"B.E.E.?" I repeated.

"Basic Elemancy Enhancement, babe," Jules grinned, her grey eyes shining with coiled excitement. "It's our first class of the day."

I checked my watch. "Our first class starts in five minutes!"

"Well, then at least we'll be warmed up when we get there!" She laughed and yanked me out the door, stumbling behind her.

-:-

"Welcome to the second semester of Basic Elemancy Enhancement." Professor McNeese said after everyone had situated themselves in the large oval classroom. It had no windows and I assumed it was entirely made of elemental resistant materials. Desks were non-existent, but there was a long platform in the middle of the room. It reminded me of the small training room I had seen yesterday in the Kabra's cabin, fully equipped with elemental devices all around. I remember the looks they had given me in the short time I had been there and harshly pushed the memory of our confrontation away. I decided to focus on Jules labored breathing, still winded from our run halfway across the school.

"I'm going to murder you." I had threatened as soon as we staggered into class, although my heavy panting made it lose some of its viciousness. Jules simply rolled her eyes and smiled in amusement.

We found Kenny shortly afterward, a slight furrow in his brow as he watched us walk toward him.

"Juliana," Kenny greeted, sounding half-asleep.

"Kenny," Jules reprimanded, unfazed by the use of her full name. "Did you stay up late reading again?" I saw a small trace of red climb up Kenny's face.

"No," he mumbled into his shirt, unconvincingly.

Jules tsked. "Was it at least a good book?" Kenny nodded.

She smiled affectionately. "Then it's worth your incoherent morning state of mind." I stared conspicuously at the sibling's easy conversation, and pictured how it would be if I had classes with Dan.

_Mayhem._ I thought dryly. _I wonder how he's doing…_

My stomach grumbled and I looked up to see a pair of emerald eyes, concealed by a mess of hair, watching me. I chuckled nervously.

"Ah, man, I forgot to feed you, and on your first day too." Jules said as she brought a hand to her face. "Hey, Kenny, got any food on you?"

"No, it's okay Jules. I'm really not that hungry." I said, hurriedly as Kenny rummaged through his school bag. My stomach growled again.

Jules eyes narrowed slightly. "Your stomach begs to differ."

"Amy," Kenny spoke, the sound of his deep voice saying my name startling me. "Here." He offered me a candy-bar, its label in a different language and slightly crumpled.

"I- uh- Thank you." I mumbled, my fingertips ghosting his hand as I took the chocolate.

He gave me a sleepy smile.

I looked down quickly in an attempt to separate our green gazes. Although, I could still feel his gaze on me when I took a bite.

I was suddenly overwhelmed by the taste of chocolate in my mouth, my taste buds exploding in utter pleasure. It was by far the best chocolate I had ever had in my life. It was sweet and made a crunch sound when I bit into it. It melted slowly in my mouth and then slithered its way down my throat.

"Where did you get this?" I asked Kenny, surprised at how rich the chocolate was. You couldn't find anything like this in Boston, but then again this wasn't Boston.

"Papa."

I looked to Jules in confusion.

"He means," Jules said. "That our Papa sent it to him from our candy factory in Germany. It must be a new flavor."

"C-candy factory?" I questioned, deflated. Some part of me had hoped they were like me and Dan, but of course they wouldn't be. This pair was too extraordinary for that.

"Yes," Kenny murmured, his fist clenched tightly. "Close to home."

"Haven't you ever heard of Rosenthal's Chocolate?" Jules asked.

I shook my head and she shrugged.

"Must be a European thing then," She looked up at Kenny, whose frame towered over hers. "We must tell Papa to send shipments to America." Kenny nodded and I took another bite from my candy bar, something bugging me in the back of my head.

"What about you, Jules?" I said worriedly through a mouthful of chocolate, realizing that I hadn't seen her eat this morning.

She grinned. "I'm good. I had a big dinner yesterday."

"Are you sure you-"

She shook her head, still smiling. "I'm sure, Amy. Don't worry about it. You just finish up before we actually start to learn." I hesitantly nodded my acceptance and relished the last few morsels before shoving the candy wrapper in my pocket.

"-and that is why we must never use our elements while reading." Professor McNeese concluded, pushing up her half-moon glasses in a determined manner, and rubbing her palms across her dull gray teaching robes.

"Now," she continued, her robes billowing behind her as she walked around us. "Today, we will be learning defensive strategies to protect ourselves against our opposite elements. Can anyone tell me all seven types of elemancy?" Multiple students raised their hands, but her eyes were fixed on the boy beside me. "Mr. Rosenthal?" Professor McNeese smirked, her hooked nose growing slightly larger with the action, she seemed eager to put someone on the spot. Kenny cleared his throat, and said lowly.

"Earth, wind, fire, water, dark, light, and lightning." The professor's smirk faded away and I saw Kenny's eyes twinkle with something kin to satisfaction.

"Excellent work, Mr. Rosenthal. In today's class, we will be focusing on defending ourselves from the other elements. We will rotate every fifteen minutes. Please find a partner and begin." And with no further instruction, Professor McNeese stepped away and began to observe.

I turned to look at Jules, but she was already in front of me, hauling me to an open area.

"What about Kenny?" I asked as Jules stretched her arms out in front of me, glancing back worriedly at the tall blonde.

"He'll be fine." She said offhandedly. "Someone _always _asks to be his partner."

I quirked an eyebrow at this but Jules just answered me with a question:

"Are you ready?"

I scanned the room quickly and saw that almost everyone had started. I watched as a light elemental summon up a dome of light that shattered into a million tiny stars at the offensive contact of her opponent. I had never really fought with my elemancy, aside from that time with Remy and Zoe, but I guessed it was a good time to start.

"As I'll ever be."

I realized in the second that Jules disappeared from my line of sight in a wisp of smoke, that I had absolutely no idea what her elemancy was, and therefore was unknowing as to to go about protecting myself from it.

I felt a gust of wind pound against my backside, and I fell over, landing on my stomach violently. As I tried to stand up, another wave of air hit my side, I tumbled down, but this time I rolled with the impact and found myself in a low crouching position, searching for the culprit. I couldn't see anything through the small clouds surrounding me.

_Where are you?_

I felt foolish for not seeing it before.

"You're a wind elemental, aren't you?"

Jules giggled to my left. "Block my attacks."

There was another blast of air, consistent now, and I called a steady flow of water from the basin nearest to me. I threw it up in front of me and focused on the thought of being as cold as an icicle, and then the water froze into a wall of ice in front of me, deterring Jules' unruly winds. I grinned a bit at my newly discover defense and was about to put my own attacks into play when…

"Times up, switch partners!"

_What?_

Jules landed lightly beside me, making less sound in her descent from the sky than a leaf falling to the ground, "Neat trick, Amy." She snickered, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "It was fun; maybe you'll be able to catch me next time!"

My mouth dropped in shock, but Jules just twirled away, her laughter ringing across the classroom.

**A/N: Well, that was doozy… I can't help but think that the sparring scene was a bit awkward… Feedback? Oh and here are the character ages if they were a bit unclear before.**

**Ian/Amy/Kenny/Jules: 15**

**Dan/Nat: 13**

**Andy: 18**

**Hamilton: 16**

**Zoe/Remy: TBD**

**READ THIS: ****Okay, so I had this idea in which I shall reward you for review by letting you have a character Q/A once we reach 40 reviews. The Q/A will work so that you can ask any character of your choosing a question of any sort and they will answer back honestly. Your questions should be left in the review, saying who you want to ask and your question. (Ex. Q: Dan, do you like ninjas? A: Duhhhh, who doesn't! They are the epicness that fills the world!) Keep in mind though, that I will not be revealing any spoiler type things. :3 Gotta keep some of my secrets ;D Annnnnd that's pretty much it, so your goal is to get to 40 reviews if you want to do it. :D**


	8. Chapter 8

_Great. I am officially lost._

I looked around the empty hallway, and glared at my schedule again.

_Room 115- History Honors. Geez, it wasn't this hard to find it before._

I sighed. _This_ was exactly the reason I had chosen to find my classes beforehand, but then again I _had _gotten side-tracked with those two remarkable siblings. I shook my head fiercely. There was no point in thinking about that now. I had to find my class. I walked aimlessly through the unfamiliar hallway, searching for something to give me back my sense of direction. My polished shoes clicked loudly on the hard, marbled floors; my surroundings desolate and barren as I scoured for someone to help me find my way.

I regretted not taking Kenny's help.

"Are you sure you'll be alright? I don't mind walking you around campus today." Jules had questioned as the bell rang, packing up her stuff, and gnawing anxiously on her bottom lip.

"I'll be fine." I had said, smiling, because I had honestly believed I would be. Now, I wasn't so sure.

"I can take her." Kenny had rumbled behind me, making me jump a little. I remember my heart-rate skyrocketing for absolutely no good reason. I'd waved my hands in front of my face, hoping to mask some of my discomfort.

"N-no." I had stumbled, and then repeated a bit more firmly. "No, I can't ask you to do that. Really, I'll be okay." Kenny's eyes had hardened a bit before he nodded, walking stiffly behind Jules in the opposite direction from me.

We had sparred in class, shortly after my playful fight with Jules and before my encounter with a fire elemental. She'd had auburn hair, tied loosely in a ponytail, and had freckles sprinkled all across her face in an endearing manner. She was a harsh challenger. All the anger and hot temperedness of fire, she didn't have much restraint when coming after me, and I barely had enough time to cover myself from the fiery blasts that pummeled me all over. Her tattoo glowed viciously, creating a livid red line that slashed across her eye all the way down to her chapped lips. She wasn't as endearing then, her beauty contradicting the aggressiveness of her fighting. I met her blow for blow and when the whistle blew, strands of her auburn hair stuck to her face with sweat and she had grinned at me before moving on to her next opponent.

Kenny had come up to me next, uneasy about fighting with me. The whistle blew again, and before I had even collected any type of liquid, vines shot up from the ground and encircled my ankles. The thick vines had continued to grow until the only thing left uncovered had been my head. They had tightened around me, constricting me, and cutting of my circulation and air supply.

"Kenny," I had wheezed. "That's really tight." Kenny's eyes seemed to focus on me and he had immediately brought all the vines down. The offending plants had pooled around my feet.

"I'm sorry." He had mumbled, bitter about something, and lifted up his hand as if to touch me but thought better of it. I had glanced at my wrist where a bruise, a bracelet of purple on my otherwise pale skin, was already forming from the vines. He didn't seem to meet my eyes after that, and I didn't want to make him uncomfortable and have him escort me to the other side of the building. I was a big girl, but then again, maybe I wouldn't be in this situation if I had.

I dragged my feet across the floor, debating whether or not to go back to my dorm, when I heard a pair of voices. I followed the sound and came upon twin boys arguing. They looked like the fire elemental from my B.E.E class, except their features were softer, innocent. They didn't have the alarmingly harsh beauty; it was more subtle, like a ray of sunshine, peeking through the clouds.

"_Ned_," One of them pleaded, "You have to help me."

"You know I can't, Ted. We got in trouble last time, and you know what Sinead does when we get into trouble." Ned shuddered.

"But what if I-"

"You know what mom says." Ned chided.

"_If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a happy winter."_ They recited together, as if the words themselves had been engraved into their minds. I cleared my throat, and they turned sharply in her direction at the same time, the clear blue of their eyes analyzing me. I realized that the only difference between the two of them was the way their hair was combed, one of them to the right and the other to the left.

"I'm s-sorry, but do y-you guys know where room 115 is?"

They looked at each other and nodded.

"I'm Ned and that's my brother, Ted." Ned said, as he started walking down a different hallway than the one I had been intent on following.

_I would have been lost forever._

"What's your name?" Ted asked curiously, looking at me from beneath his bangs. I mentally noted that this twin parted his hair to the right.

"A-Amy."

"Pretty," He mused, mostly to himself, before he stopped in front of a room.

"I would recommend sitting in the back. Professor Bart tends to spit."

I laughed, a little less nervous, and the twins grinned. "Thanks."

As I grasped the handle, Ned and Ted took off running down the hall, calling over their shoulders:

"See you later, Amy!"

I took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Most of the courses at the academy are integrated; meaning people of every house can be mixed into your class. Jules and Kenny had been in B.E.E with me, but as I looked into the suddenly quiet classroom, I realized that I didn't recognize anyone from my house. Their stares were cold, calculating. I looked down at my schedule, the white paper crinkling in my shaking fist. I didn't like being the center of attention.

The teacher cleared his throat awkwardly and extended his hand toward me.

"You must be Miss Amy. I'm Professor Bart." He said, as I shook his hand, uncertain. He smiled kindly at me, despite my clammy hand,and his eyes creased with the action. "Please, take a seat."

I nodded. "Th-thank you." My gaze wandered the room, and settled on a section of empty seats near the front of the classroom.

_Professor Bart tends to spit._

At this point, I didn't care if I was rained on by meteors; I just wanted to get out of everyone's line of sight. I set my books down, leaned my head on my palm, and stared out the window.

_At least the view is nice._ I thought absentmindedly, when I felt someone plop down in the seat beside mine. I turned, curious, and was surprised to see a pair of golden eyes staring back at me. the same eyes that had told me the story about a magical ring... And I had so been hoping I had imagined the whole thing.

"Have you thought about it?" He whispered, cautious of Professor Bart lecturing on some explorer or another, but observing me out of the corner of his eye anyways.

"No," I clipped. This wasn't the type of decision I would make on a whim.

Ian sighed, frowning. Didn't he know how to make a different expression?

"You're aware that you're sitting in no man's land, right?"

I stared at him, and couldn't help the smile the crossed my features. "Yes, I'm aware." _Are you?_ I questioned, not understanding why he would remain sitting next to me after he got his question answered. We spent the rest of the class period in semi companionable silence, the only sound between us being the scratching of pen on paper as we took notes. Every once in a while, I would look up and catch his gaze. He was unfazed by this, but every time it happened I would return to my notes with renewed vigor, uncomfortable with how my cheeks burned.

I only got spit on twice.

When the bell rang, Ian put his hand on my shoulder, stopping me from leaving the classroom.

"Do you have plans for lunch?"

"Yes," I stared at his hand like a foreign object and he slowly removed it, "I'm sorry."

"I don't really care." He said, brushing me off. "I just needed to give you this." Out of his pocket, he pulled a golden ring, which hung from a thin chain.

"Is that…?" I faltered.

He nodded grimly. "The one and only."

I shook my head violently, my face burning, but not out of embarrassment this time. "I can't take that. I haven't made a choice yet."

"You never really had a choice." He snapped, and then said more quietly. "None of us did."

"_Ian,_" I whimpered, my voice trembling slightly. I couldn't face this now. He had to understand.

"Look, I wouldn't give it to you if I couldn't handle it anymore, okay? It knows you're here and it… _craves _you." Ian spat, the bitter words echoing in my mind. "Take it." His amber eyes smoldered, no longer a calm gold. He was hurting, and I didn't know why.

"What do I do with it?" I mumbled, anxiously watching the ring dangle off Ian's elegant fingers.

"Just-" Ian was interrupted.

"Amy." I turned and saw Kenny standing imposingly at the door. "Jules told me to get you." Ian looked back and forth between the two of us, analyzing the situation. Kenny gave off a vibe that he wasn't going to be leaving without me.

"Right," Ian spoke carefully, "I'll see you around, Amy." He then bent forward as if to kiss my cheek but instead he inconspicuously placed the ring in my coat pocket, and whispered, "Meet me by the fountain tonight after dinner. Don't be late." He then sauntered out of the classroom, not bothering to acknowledge Kenny's presence any more than he already had.

My heart was racing, and I could still feel his hot breath against my face as I watched his retreating silhouette.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, it feels good to write again! gahhh I missed you guys... I hate being busy. :3 Feedback? And I still remember our Q&A agreement!**

**Love,**

**Adriana**


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